All posts tagged Saudi reform

A report from a religious council in Saudi Arabia called the Majlis al-Ifta’ al-A’ala concluded that relaxing the country’s rules that keep women from driving would lead to premarital sex and essentially mark the end of virginity.

The report, submitted to the country’s legislative Shura Council, supported the long-held notion that allowing women to drive would lead to increased mixing of genders and related temptations that could also spur prostitution, pornography, divorce and homosexuality.

To some degree the concerns of Saudi religious officials reflect the broad sense of freedom that the cars have represented around the world for 100 years. It is true that ease of personal mobility tends to dramatically expand one’s social (and sexual) horizons.

While Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah said women could expect to vote in local elections starting in 2015, it also became clear they would not be allowed to drive to themselves to the polling place. Now the right to drive may be turning into a flash point in the Saudi reform movement.

There is also a chance that support for Saudi women around the world could swell and set off protests in other countries. This has already happened in Ukraine, where members of the women’s rights group Femen protested last summer in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Kiev.